Funny how times have changed

[ConvergenceZone]

Gosh, I remember in the past years logging into this board every single day to see if something was brewing in the tropics and to see what the latest maps/forecasts were...... Now I check in about every 2 weeks lol...........I know we are expecting a very slow year, but I'm hoping that we get a storm to track in August....I don't mind waiting to September to track a storm, but it would be nice to see one in August. I miss the social buzz and conversations that this board creates during a developing storm. .......

[ninel conde]

Gosh, I remember in the past years logging into this board every single day to see if something was brewing in the tropics and to see what the latest maps/forecasts were...... Now I check in about every 2 weeks lol...........I know we are expecting a very slow year, but I'm hoping that we get a storm to track in August....I don't mind waiting to September to track a storm, but it would be nice to see one in August. I miss the social buzz and conversations that this board creates during a developing storm. .......

Yea, its been a very long time since a storm of interest formed and its been since 2005 since a major hit.

[WPBWeather]

Gosh, I remember in the past years logging into this board every single day to see if something was brewing in the tropics and to see what the latest maps/forecasts were...... Now I check in about every 2 weeks lol...........I know we are expecting a very slow year, but I'm hoping that we get a storm to track in August....I don't mind waiting to September to track a storm, but it would be nice to see one in August. I miss the social buzz and conversations that this board creates during a developing storm. .......

Yea, its been a very long time since a storm of interest formed and its been since 2005 since a major hit.

Which is lucky for us, but you guys like to whistle through the graveyard a lot.

[angelwing]

I know, I used to check several times a day, now I am lucky to check once a week. It has been a slow season

[CrazyC83]

Almost everyone expected a slow season though.

I wonder what these boards would have been like in 1997? 1994?

[Yellow Evan]

As an EPAC tracker, I'm gonna say the opposite.

Times have changed for me for the better if you wanna call it that. Years ago you were lucky to get more than 15 storms and for a storm to exceed Cat 2, you were also lucky. You could go a few weeks during the peak season without a storm, especially if the ATL controlled the tropical waves. Threads for these systems were often less than 5 pages, though there'd be 1-2 good storms with 10 page threads.

Nowadays the potential for these monsters are higher, and come with higher expectations. Generally, there are a lot of posts when a storm is rapidly escalating and many threads are 15+ pages. And save a recent lull, there are storms virtually eery week now or at least invests. You can almost get burnout.

[CrazyC83]

As an EPAC tracker, I'm gonna say the opposite.

Times have changed for me for the better if you wanna call it that. Years ago you were lucky to get more than 15 storms and for a storm to exceed Cat 2, you were also lucky. You could go a few weeks during the peak season without a storm, especially if the ATL controlled the tropical waves. Threads for these systems were often less than 5 pages, though there'd be 1-2 good storms with 10 page threads.

Nowadays the potential for these monsters are higher, and come with higher expectations. Generally, there are a lot of posts when a storm is rapidly escalating and many threads are 15+ pages. And save a recent lull, there are storms virtually eery week now or at least invests. You can almost get burnout.

I wonder what kind of response we would see on here if a full-fledged hurricane was threatening southern California?

IMO, if there is a year for it in this generation, 2015 it is.

[psyclone]

Gosh, I remember in the past years logging into this board every single day to see if something was brewing in the tropics and to see what the latest maps/forecasts were...... Now I check in about every 2 weeks lol...........I know we are expecting a very slow year, but I'm hoping that we get a storm to track in August....I don't mind waiting to September to track a storm, but it would be nice to see one in August. I miss the social buzz and conversations that this board creates during a developing storm. .......

You're right...it's dead. As a weather geek it's a disappointment. On the other hand, it sure is nice not having to worry about anything. developing storms create non stop angst. the current quiet is the met equivalent of Monopoly's "get out of jail card". I'm quite content with the down time. And...if I may confess...I haven't done a thing to prepare for a hurricane this year...nor have I for the last several years. I can get ready quickly if need be otherwise the outlay of time and financial resources is used elsewhere.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

As an EPAC tracker, I'm gonna say the opposite.

Times have changed for me for the better if you wanna call it that. Years ago you were lucky to get more than 15 storms and for a storm to exceed Cat 2, you were also lucky. You could go a few weeks during the peak season without a storm, especially if the ATL controlled the tropical waves. Threads for these systems were often less than 5 pages, though there'd be 1-2 good storms with 10 page threads.

Nowadays the potential for these monsters are higher, and come with higher expectations. Generally, there are a lot of posts when a storm is rapidly escalating and many threads are 15+ pages. And save a recent lull, there are storms virtually eery week now or at least invests. You can almost get burnout.

I wonder what kind of response we would see on here if a full-fledged hurricane was threatening southern California?

IMO, if there is a year for it in this generation, 2015 it is.

Has an actual hurricane force TC ever been confirmed as making landfall in Southern California? I've hear myths, but never seen any studies that prove such an event has actually happened in recorded history.

[Hammy]

Has an actual hurricane force TC ever been confirmed as making landfall in Southern California? I've hear myths, but never seen any studies that prove such an event has actually happened in recorded history.

There was a system I know of in 1939, but I believe there is also some debate over it's landfall intensity.

[MGC]

Slow Atlantic season? We've already had two named storms....well above average.....MGC

[Hammy]

Slow Atlantic season? We've already had two named storms....well above average.....MGC

It's almost funny how people forget that two somewhat recent active seasons, 2000 and 2004, had no storms before August, and 1998/2004 went until the last week of July before even getting a tropical depression, yet two storms before July now qualifies as less active than that.

[Yellow Evan]

It's not the fact there's been only 2 storms.

It's the fact that conditions are terrible at record-levels and are only going to guess worse with this kind of El Nino.

[ConvergenceZone]

Slow Atlantic season? We've already had two named storms....well above average.....MGC

yea, and I think everything had to come together perfectly in order to get the two that we did.....I wouldn't be surprised if that ends up being the highlight of the season....only because of the increasingly strong el nino that's building....

On a side note, I'm very excited for us in California. With a very strong el nino(perhaps strongest on record) currently in the forecast, California has a high probability of getting absolutely hammered this Winter with huge winter storms.......I can't wait!!! Our multi-year drought has been horrific........

[Hammy]

Slow Atlantic season? We've already had two named storms....well above average.....MGC

yea, and I think everything had to come together perfectly in order to get the two that we did.....I wouldn't be surprised if that ends up being the highlight of the season....only because of the increasingly strong el nino that's building....

On a side note, I'm very excited for us in California. With a very strong el nino(perhaps strongest on record) currently in the forecast, California has a high probability of getting absolutely hammered this Winter with huge winter storms.......I can't wait!!! Our multi-year drought has been horrific........

Not to predict a highly active season (because it's very unlikely) but the same was said after Arthur last year, that everything else would be a sheared mess due to worsening conditions, and we got some decent storms later (including the first Cat 4 since 2011).

Nothing is set in stone at this point and all it takes are all the conditions coming together at just the right time again, as Bermuda saw (twice) last season.

As an aside, hopefully the winter weather plays out well, we had a severe drought where I lived in Florida in 1998 (complete with fires) and most of the canals and smaller lakes were dried up to dust.

[Yellow Evan]

Slow Atlantic season? We've already had two named storms....well above average.....MGC

yea, and I think everything had to come together perfectly in order to get the two that we did.....I wouldn't be surprised if that ends up being the highlight of the season....only because of the increasingly strong el nino that's building....

On a side note, I'm very excited for us in California. With a very strong el nino(perhaps strongest on record) currently in the forecast, California has a high probability of getting absolutely hammered this Winter with huge winter storms.......I can't wait!!! Our multi-year drought has been horrific........

Not to predict a highly active season (because it's very unlikely) but the same was said after Arthur last year, that everything else would be a sheared mess due to worsening conditions, and we got some decent storms later (including the first Cat 4 since 2011).

Nothing is set in stone at this point and all it takes are all the conditions coming together at just the right time again, as Bermuda saw (twice) last season.

As an aside, hopefully the winter weather plays out well, we had a severe drought where I lived in Florida in 1998 (complete with fires) and most of the canals and smaller lakes were dried up to dust.

If you think, 2014 was a decent season, you must have a low definition of "decent". it was around 2/3 of normal, though I agree it had 3 nice storms (but virtually all seasons have that).

[ninel conde]

Slow Atlantic season? We've already had two named storms....well above average.....MGC

It's almost funny how people forget that two somewhat recent active seasons, 2000 and 2004, had no storms before August, and 1998/2004 went until the last week of July before even getting a tropical depression, yet two storms before July now qualifies as less active than that.

But this isnt 2000 and it certainly isnt 2004.

[Hammy]

If you think, 2014 was a decent season, you must have a low definition of "decent". it was around 2/3 of normal, though I agree it had 3 nice storms (but virtually all seasons have that).

ACE was within the average range, and the number of storms/hurricanes were both average, and it exceeded most of the "nothing but sheared messes" predictions many were making early on (in fact of eight storms, only two failed to become hurricanes.) Two more single-advisory 40mph names would've made the storm number average as well. My main point is that for all the complaining, last year still exceeded what several people here were saying, basing 2-3 months from now on what's currently going on. It didn't work out too well last year as it wasn't the 2013 repeat many expected, and this year probably won't be either.

[Yellow Evan]

If you think, 2014 was a decent season, you must have a low definition of "decent". it was around 2/3 of normal, though I agree it had 3 nice storms (but virtually all seasons have that).

ACE was within the average range, and the number of storms/hurricanes were both average, and it exceeded most of the "nothing but sheared messes" predictions many were making early on (in fact of eight storms, only two failed to become hurricanes.) Two more single-advisory 40mph names would've made the storm number average as well. My main point is that for all the complaining, last year still exceeded what several people here were saying, basing 2-3 months from now on what's currently going on. It didn't work out too well last year as it wasn't the 2013 repeat many expected, and this year probably won't be either.

In terms of name storm count, it didn't. In terms of hurricane count, it did.

[Cyclenall]

Times have changed, but its not funny. Amazingly at 5:00 pm EDT there were only 3 members active...what? There is a major hurricane in the Epac with a bunch of other systems for the Pacific and that is the result. Its been busier in the middle of the night in February here. The explanation? People have stopped caring like me. I'll check things out every 3 weeks.

The 2014 Atlantic hurricane season was boring, Hurricane Gonzalo is as forgettable as they come and in a few years I won't remember it, even now I have to look up its name because all I recall is that it started with the letter G.